Thursday May 18, 2023
A silage bale blocking an entrance to Magowna House on Wednesday.
For Ismail David Ismail, the protest by locals surrounding the placement of asylum seekers at a disused hotel is something he can live with.
The Somali refugee has seen far worse in his native land, making a gunfire gesture as he explains to reporters about where he has come from, and why he wants to build a life in Ireland.
The wonder of forests and cows in his new surroundings trump the controversy that has engulfed this tiny Clare townland in the past few days, becoming a political maelstrom for Government leaders as they grapple with their international obligations around international protection.
"I've got too many stories that I cannot tell. I've seen everything, this is easy, bro," said Ismail, referring to the protest about the decision to place 33 asylum seekers at Magowna House hotel, which has seen a blockade of the access road by angry locals who say they received no consultation or information about the sudden arrivals.
Ismail has seen people die back home, so a protest against his being here does not bother him. He wants to build a new life in Ireland.
"I come here to make friends, good friends," he said.
It is hard to believe that such an archetypal picture of Irish rural tranquility was the scene of vociferous political furore just 24 hours earlier.
Deputy Mayor of Clare, Mary Howard, at the road leading to Magowna House on Wednesday. Insisting that refugees are welcome in Clare, Ms Howard said it is the location, suitability, and access to services that are of concern.
Local protesters remained largely tight-lipped on Wednesday, claiming they had said all they wish to say, as the uncertainty rolls on and threatens to become a political crisis for the Government.
However, the blockades will remain in place "until satisfactory answers are given" to the community, according to local woman Agnes O'Malley, while another woman who wished not to be named said the "community is 100% united, and is in fact growing" in its opposition.
A quiet morning was only briefly interrupted as a bus took the remaining asylum seekers to the local Intreo office — some had left overnight following the protests.
Confusion reigned over the number of men still being housed at the former hotel, which has been closed for the past four years.
At various points, it ranged from 18 to 20, then 21. One local man who boarded the bus as it left for the Intreo office claimed he counted 29.
Only one contrarian voice put his head above the parapet.
Tech worker Chris Primo, a Michigan native who has been in Ireland for 27 years and lives in nearby Kilmaley, clashed with local protesters over the road blockade.
Claiming it was "vigilantism" as he rowed with locals, Mr Primo said: "I'm not unsympathetic to people's right to protest but it is completely inappropriate to block a public road."
A meeting between local representatives and Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman on Wednesday morning failed to break the impasse.
Mr O'Gorman said the closure of the hotel as a centre for asylum seekers is not an option.
Deputy Mayor of Clare, Mary Howard, told RTÉ News that a solution has to be found.
Insisting that refugees are welcome in Clare, she said it is the location, suitability, and access to services that are of concern.
"They are healthy young men, but there is nothing there. There isn't a streetlight, there isn't a footpath, there is nothing there for them to do," she said.